Toaster



Sept. 24, 1946. v. MAZZARlS l 'IIOASTER I Filed June 24, 1946 2.Sheets-Sheet l mmvrox. V110 flagga/ri/si Y V. MAZZARIS! TOASTER Sept.24, 1946.

2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed Jun 24, 1946 INVENTOIL r Patented Sept. 24, 1946UNITED STATE TOASTER Vito Mazzarisi, Clifton, NUT. I Application June24, 1946, Serial No. 678,777

I V 9 Claims gcies sss) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in toasters.

In conventional toasters of the slice-reversing door type a slice ofbread, inside the closed toaster door, is exposed to a heating element.When sufiiciently toasted the door is opened whereupon the bread slice,sliding down the incline of the open door, is reversed so that theuntoasted side is on top, ready for-toasting when again closing thedoor.

It is necessary in'toasters of this type that shown in Fig. '2 viewedfrom the plane III-III thereof; Fig. 4 isv an enlarged side view of partof a toaster construction in accordance with the invention showingvarious positions of a spring element in relation to various positionsof the door;

the door, when in the closed position; is at a relatively large angle ofincline" with respect to the vertical. Without such angle of incline thedoor would not remain sufficiently closed. Alternatively, it is notpractical to apply conventional spring means, inter alia, because of theare through which any point of the pivoted door, whether below or abovethe pivot, has to travel.

The incline of the door of conventional toasters of the slice-reversingdoor type needs to be such that the weight of the door at the inclinewill keep the same closed. This has necessitated a triangularly shapedtoaster unsightly and ungainly in appearance. Furthermore, the heatingelements are normally vertically arranged in a toaster of this type sothat with the slanting angle of the toaster doors the. toast slices areexposed to the heating element'at unequal distances, i. e., they arecloser to the heating element at the top than they are at the bottom ofthe slice. In this manner, the bread slice is thus unevenly toasted andin many cases satisfactory toasting of the base of the toast willresultin a scorching of the top portion thereof.

One object of the invention comprises inter alia a toaster having atleast one spring actuated slice-reversing door. I Another object of theinvention comprises a toaster having 'at least one spring actuatedsubstantially vertical slice-reversing door.

The foregoing and still further objects of the invention will appearfrom the followingdescription read in conjunction with the drawingsillustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention in which:

Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of a slicereversing door typetoaster constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view with parts broken away of a toaster constructionin accordance with the invention and having one of the slice-reversingdoors partly opened;

Fig. 3 is a top View of part of the construction and I Figs; 5, 6 and '7respectively represent enlarged side, frontand top views of a doublespring element in accordance with a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

As illustrated in the drawings, l represents the base of a toaster withthe .toaster housing comprising sides 2 and top 3 secured thereto. Doors5 :are pivotally mounted on pivots 4 carried by sides 2. The pivots arepreferably stamped or cut as an integral part of the housing. Doors 5carry handle portions 6 and are pivoted intermediate their ends so thatend 5(a), \below the pivot, is relatively short. Doors 5 carry at theirlower ends lugs 1 preferably as an integral part thereof. Lugs I carrypivot bearing-apertures 8 and sprin bearing-apertures 9. Double spring[0 comprises coiled spring element I00, secured to base I by stud l5,and individual arcuate spring elements llla and [012, having at theirends bent or hookedportions I la and MD, respectively carried inapertures 9 and 9a of doors 5. Each door carries across its base a tripbar l2 upon which a slice of bread rests when the door is closed andwhich serves to trip the same so as to slide down the downwardlyinclined door with the untoasted face up when the door is opened.Instead of a, double spring serving two doors, an individual separatespring (Fig. 4) for each door may be used.

I Specifically referring to Fig. 4, 5 represents the toaster door (partsbroken away), 8 the pivot bearing-aperture, 9 the springbearing-aperture, I the toaster base (parts broken away), Ind the coiledspring element and [3 the arcuate spring. Broken outlines 5a, 5b, 5c and5d respectively indicate various positions of the opening door,

with 5d the fully opened slightly downwardly inclined door-position atwhich the bread slice has been reversed. .Broken outlines I3a,- I31),I30 and l3d respectively represent the positions and shapes of thearcuate spring at these various door positions; 9a, 9b, 9c and 9dindicate the respective relative positions of the springbearing-aperture. The dotted spring outline l3e-indicates the positionand shape of the spring element with the end facing the door inunattached position. The solid outlines show door 5 in closed positionand the arcuate spring l3turnably fas- U tened with one end to the doorat 9. The other end of spring 13 is suitabl mounted, such as on base Iat is by way of the coiled spring element d. In the preferredconstruction the spring securing point I4 is substantially on a linethrough the axis of pivot of the door, and extending at an angle withthe horizontal through said axis of not exceeding 60 and preferablybetween and 60.

Attaching the spring (I36) to door 5, when the latter is in closedposition, involves charging the spring, i. e., deflecting it into theposition shown bythe solid outline l3. In this position the doorattached spring arm extends at its securing point at an angle of lessthan 90? and preferably less than substantially 6Gto the vertical X-Y onthe axis of pivot of the door through the door securing point 9. Aminimum spring arm angle to the vertical X-Y of at least 10 is ofadvantage. The spring exerts at 9a first force A (Fig. 4) in thedirection of the spring arm and a second force B substantially at rightangles to the first, thus efiecting a resultant force C acting to keepdoor 5 in closed position. As the door is opened and assumes forinstance position 5a, the point of spring attachment moves to 9a and thespring itself assumes the position and shape 53a. Point 9a issubstantially in direct line between door pivot point 8 and point I iaon coil ifid. In this position of the door, the spring is at aboutmaximum lateral depression between spring ends, and assumes a positionapproximately tangential to the arc of travel of the spring securingpoints around the axis of pivot of the door between closing and maximumopening position of the latter. At the same time the spring arm ltf ofspring [3a deflected from the Original position l3 against the springforce of coiled. spring element lild. Thus, moving of the door fromposition 5 to position 5a results in a compound spring action in which alateral charging by depression, of the spring between ends is obtainedand in which further a charging in the direction of the door attachedspring arm is achieved by the lifting of the latter from point 9 topoint 9a and the resultant deflection, against spring resistance, of theother spri a m- Fur-ther opening the door to for instance position 52),the spring securing point is at 91) and the spring itself assumes theposition and shape I31). In this position the spring element I3!) isstill laterally charged with respect to its original position 13 but toa somewhat lesser extent than at its position [3a. The lifting of thespring securing point from 9a to 91), however, has resulted in a furthercharging in the direction of the door attached spring arm by additionaldeflection against spring resistance of the arm at the other end of thespring. The door secured spring arm is still relatively close totangential with respect to the arc of travel of the spring securingpoints of the door when opening or closing the same. Thus, in theposition 5b of the door the direction of one component of the springforce is still approximately vertical to the spring arm at its point ofattachment to the door but the predominating spring force at that pointis downwardly and substantially in the direction of the arc of travel ofthe spring securing points. 7

When further opening the door 5 to, for instance, the position 5c, thedoor securing point of the spring is located at 90 and the shape andform of the. spring element are shown by the broken outline I30. In thisposition the distance between spring ends is substantially the same asthe distance between ends of the spring in the position i3. Point 8athus represents the hall-way mark of the securing point of the spring tothe door between the closed position of the door and the partly openposition 50. In the door position 50 therefore the lateral spring forcebetween ends of the spring is about the samev as it is in the original,closed position 5 of the door; this force, however, in this case isexerted substantially in an upward, door opening direction. Thedeflection of the base secured arm of the spring in position I30 is suchand the deflection opposing spring force in this position is so selectedthat the increased spring resistance against which the arm has movedcauses the major component of the spring force to be exerted at so inthe direction of the door secured spring arm portion, thus resulting ina predominant downwardly directed spring force, i. e., substantially inthe direction of the arc of travel of the spring securing points of thedoor towards its closing position.

The laterally exerted spring force at 9 and 9c relatively small. Thisspring force at 9 is preferably in such relative balance with the springforce in the direction of the door attached spring arm that it reflectsa resultant acting in a direction to keep the door efiectively closed.Between spring securing points 9 and 9c the lateral spring force is atleast partly absorbed by the fixed pivot 3. The closer the door securingpoint of the spring gets to the line 8 Ma, the greater is the absorptionof this force with substantially a maximum at ca. Though thisabsorption. of the lateral spring force decreases between so and $0, thelateral spring force itself decreases by the de-compression of thespring and the arm directional spring force increasingly outbalances thelateral spring force to such extent that the latter for practicalconsiderations ceases to materially affect the former.

When further opening the door to, for instance, the position 5d, whichis at a slight downward incline, and at which a slice of bread on theinside of the door would have become reversed, the securing point of thespring to the door is at ed. At this point the spring assumes the shapeand position 13d. The distance between spring ends of the spring inposition [3d is greater than the distance between spring ends of thecharged spring in position is and equals approximately the distancebetween spring ends of the uncharged spring in position I36. Thus atthere is substantially no lateral thrust of the spring, though there isan increased arm directional thrust of the spring by reason of thefurther deiiection of. the base mounted spring arm, against the springresistance of coiled spring element lfld. This arm directional thrust'ofthe spring at 9d is, however, substantially in a direction at arelatively small angle to the line B-Qd. Consequently only a relativelysmall proportion of this thrust is efiectively exerted, i. e.,substantially in the direction of the door-closing arc of travel of thespring securing point on the door around pivot 8. The more closely thearm directional thrust approximates tangential direction, the less isthe loss in thrust force through pivot absorption. Conversely, the moreclosely the arm directional thrust approximates the line between doorpivot and spring securing point (to the door) the higher is the loss ofthrust form through pivot absorption.

The spring force, particularly that against v the a distance of :thedoor top which the base secured arm of the springiis'de- 'flectibl'e,must be appropriately proportioned to.

engineering. When the door is in the closed posi- T tion, it is almostvertical with its masspredomh *nantly in substantially .verticalalignment with the pivot point; onlyia relatively small spring force isrequired to maintain" the door in a closed 5 position. This may besupplied by a substantially slateral thrusting spring'force or withinthe pre- --ferred embodiment of theinvention bythe re- -sultant ofi alaterally and arm directionally act- 'Jing spring force; As'the' door isopened, the gravitational force exerted thereon increases with .throughthe pivot point; The spring 'force against which the deflecting springarm moves can then be calculated in a well known manner .7 and can bepredetermined empirically for any given construction. In-apracticalapplication, door position 5b (Figs) could be selected,'for instance, asthe one at which the spring force from the vertical at the door securingpoint at stantially between and 60 on the axis of door pivot through thedoorsecur- ,stantially straight line that, the door secured spring armis .an angle of subto the vertical ing point; the arcuate spring haspreferably subdirectional end portions definingits two arms and is.preferably so shaped substantially tangential ati thedoor securing pointto the circle slice-reversing doors may of the coiled spring elementlOdis to be calculated in well known manner to balance the gravitationalforces exerted upon the door with respect'to the 'pivot. The door in theposition 51) would then be in spring-balance'and when placed in thatpositionwould remain substantially suspended-without moving eitherupward or" down- .ward V Broadly of a toaster {of the aforementionedtype; spring means having at least one arm securedto said door. at asecuring pointpositioned, with the {door closed, below the axis ofpivotof said door, 7 said arm' substantially extending at said securingpoint at an angle of less than 90 andpreferably less than 60- to thevertical'on "said axis through said securing point, said arm' beingmounted for substantially arm directional lifting against springresistance and for substantially lateral deflection against springresistance throughout at least-part of the arc of travel of saidsecuring point around said axis when open- --ing said door. at saidsecuring point to' be substantially laterally deflectible to positionsapproximating substantially tangential direction to said' are, oftravel; 1 The arm maybe secured to the door when in the closed positionwithout spring tension though in a position to cause any opening 7 ofthe door to be against spring resistance. It is preferred, however, tomount the arm at said securing point. with a spring force exerted insubstantialy door closing direction.

As=is evident from the drawings, the preferred embodiment of theinvention comprises in combination with a toaster door of the type men-I speaking the -invention comprises in combination with at least oneslice-reversing door sion sufficient to, maintain the.

(partially indicated in the drawings by for example broken,

positioned, with' the door pivot ofthe 'doorandwiththe spring mountingextending at an angle Thus in the practical application of the inventiona. toaster with be constructed. The door? is only under relativelyslight spring tensame satisfactorily closed by wayof a spring thrustcomprising theresultant of a substantially lateral spring force throughspring compression and a. substantially .arm directional spring force.through angularudeflection against spring resistance .of the springarm. opened, the lateral spring force component decreases in its actionon the fact that its thrust isincreasingly directed a As the. door isthe door by reason of towards the pivot until about maximum compression,at which point it is substantially completely absorbed. The spring forcecomponentracting 1 by way of spring arm deflection against springresistance becomes increasingly greater by reason not only of theincreased deflection of the spring arm but also by reason of the greaterapproximation of its thrust in directions substantially tangential tothe arc of travel ofthe spring se- The arm is preferably mounted openingdoor,

tioned, spring means and preferablyan arcuate lifting of said first armand preferably'for suchv deflectionv at a point substantially below thedoor securing point. 3

' The' preferred spring in accordance with the invention is an arcuatespring, so shaped that when secured toth'e-door, preferably under ten-Lsion, its door secured arm substantially extends with the distance ofthe curing point around the door pivot. This double action :increaseinspring thrust against the openingfof the door aids inbalancing thegravtational force acting on the door, which increases door top from thevertical over the pivot; By reason of this double 'action, furthermore,either a weaker spring resistance for deflection may be chosen thanwould be otherwise possible to balance the same opening distance of thedoor from the closed posi- 1 tion, or alternatively it is possible witha given spring resistance against deflection to achieve a greateropening distance of the door than would be otherwise feasible. Dependingupon the deflection resistance selected, as well as upondoor weight,height, and such other factors as may affect the gravitational forcesexerted upon the a point in the opening of the door will be reached atwhich the forces are in approximate balance and beyond which the weightof the door at the distance of its top from the vertical over the pivotwill outbalance the deflection'resistance of the spring arm, thuscausing the door to 'move downwardly by its own weight resistance.

but still cushioned by the spring thrust of the arm as it is furth'erdeflected against spring Though within I 'my invention I find it ofadvantage to secure the arm portion mounted for deflection againstspring resistance at a pointbelow thespring vcurvedline R) through saidpoint around. the substantially fixed mounting point of .ctherspr-ing.Best results are obtained when ,the i'doori securing ,point is closed,below and slightly forward of the axis of .point; substantiallypositioned below the; door :securingpoint on the vertical to the axis ofpivot of the door substantially Iiwith'the horizontalon said axis of notexceeding substantially 60 and preferably between 20 and.

substantially vertical the preferred embodiment of t 7 -securingpoint'of the springtothedoor,litizispos- '1-3.1In:toasters of theetypezhaving at leasti'ione s'ible to raise thesecuring'point of] thedeflecting sli'ceereversing door i-pivotable -:int-ermediate .:its arm'to" above the' doorl securing: pointland. even ends; th"improvement-which :comprisesgin com- -to above the' door piv'c-t.lbin'ation with qatdeastzonecsuchidoor ofz such Wi-thin -thescopeof:lily-invention onersingle 5 toasteraat least :onearcuate-zspring,:.spring ten- -s1oring element-unitafor-eachdo'or may'beiused. sicn compressible;between' ends: and definingwithAlternatively; and this construCtionis preferred, --itstend =portionsat;least one .first' and :one second I'lfinditjtj.bfliadvantagel(10311563 adouble .spring -arme'respectively, :said first; armv being securedelernent1a ;.for i t c .illustrat d infFigs. 2, -substantiallyiatiitstend tosaidvdoor at-a door 3,;5; sa s, 11 1 e a iled spring ele--*sricuringpoint,positioned, with:the:door:.closed, kmentflficA-Jserve bt gfLth'e i di idu spring *belowiiandflforward;of the axis of. pivot:of: said elements lowland lilb. as 1. a Jspring resistance :doon saisfirst 1 arm: substantially eXtending': at ag angst th deflection, zAsl.i11u trated n Fig. 7 saidr-d'oor.securingrpointzin said position with:an --'-it=-is often expedient toI-somewhat bendthe arms arm directionalisp thrust in a ljjfiwai'dly s: t 1 rsth it ip:;bar and at .the.5-wardlyzdirection atian anglef of substantiallybesameatime'bringf;tnelarm endszinto substantial tween 10'-1and-60 to the Vertical:011 said axis a tw th a other. .Althoughonespring threughe'said-doorsecuring, point, saidrsecond for each side ot each door orla doublespring for arm-"beingciefiectibly --mounted"substantiallywat ieachside-of each pair of doors .may be used, I -:its end :wat a-substantially.==stationaryi;spring find-it sufiicien't top'rovideeonlyone side of each. go pcintasubstantialiy positioned below door with asuitable spring element in accordance "Sa d d s n Po t" n the' e t a tosaid with the invention. axis-rot pivot and substantially extendingv at:an "The foregoing specifiofdescription is forrpurangle with:thehorizontal on'vsaid axiswof "subposes of illustration andnotfofvlimitationzandlt stantially f tt and spring. means 'for is thereforemy intention that thei'invention be si ting thezdefiection .of saidsecond arm-"Sa d -1im-it 1 only b the appended claims or their .varcuatespring being tension-compressed between equivalent wherein I have"endeavored: to claim when said door is substantially closed. broadly.an: inherent novelty. I -.1-In toasterslofzthe type havingat least one IIclaim: "slice r'e-versing dOOIjDiVOt'abIQ intermediate its 1.Inutoastersxof the 'typei'havingfat least. one -ends; the improvementwhichmomprises; 'inz'com- -sliceareversingzd o.xpivotable:Jintermediate:rits bination with at leastone such .dOOl ofsuch ends; the improvement whichcomprises, .in comtoaster,-. at leastone:.arcuate -spring, spring ten- -binati'on with at cleast' one suchdoor of such" sion compressible between ends and defining with.;toaster;;springrmeans having-at least: one arm -it -en 1portionsiratzleastone first: and one second .JIateraIlyIdeflectabIeagainstispring' resistance searm respectively; said'rfirst' arm beingsecured cured to saidido'onat a securingipoint'positioned,substantially-at its end to said 'door,":at a'door 'sfwith th xdoorclosed, biilOWL'theflXlslfof pivot of rsecuring peint positioned, withtheido0r closed, :saids:doorgisaidnarms substantially extendingratbelow'theiaxispf pivoto-f-said door, said first said L securing ip'ointwith :.:an arm ldirectional arm substantially extending at saiddoorsecuring rispring thrust: and lin'.a..downwardlyidirection' atgunpoint with :an-arin: directional spring thrust and an: angle ofless'zthan" 9 Ltoithe verticalton :said -in' awd'ownwardlyidirection:atan angle of less axiscthrongh saidsecuring.point; said arm beingthan-90 tothevertical on said aXis through said mounted" forsubstantially arm: directional iliftdoor securing 1 point forsubstantially arm 1 direc- -in nst'lsp ng resistance and .for substan-..fionalrlittingrthroughoutiat-least part of the arc tially. lateral.deflection against-spring resistance ofi-travelofsaid door-securingpointaround said uthroughout at least partof the arc ofrtravel ofaaxis,- when 'opening -said door; and a resistance said securing'pointaround said. axis when openspring-coil carried at andas axsubstantially,in-

ing saiddoor. tegral extensionwf the end -:of :said second .arm 2. Intoasters of the typehaving at least one and mounted-at asubstantially'station'ary mounti C1001 D v bie intermediate its..-ing-point=substantially-positioned below said door ends-, theimprovement which comprises, incomseouringqaoint; said @second arm beingdeflectible -.bination with at least one 'such doc-r of I siich:twgainstrtloe springresistance'of aid coilupon the ..toaster,-atleast-one arcuate spr ning with .-liitingiotsaidfirst arm and saidarcuatejspring itsend portions atleast onefirst-andone second..being-:tension-compressed when saiddoor issubarm respectively; saidfirst arm 1 being secured stantial1yv'c1osed. substantially at'its endto said door; at a door 5. The. improvement-.in.-accordance with'claimisecuri-ngppoint positioned, with the door closed,:ldnwhichsaidfirst.armextends at an'angle not .i axis-of pivot,ofgaidfidOOr, saidlfirst exceeding substantially :and, in which said=armsubstantially: extending at-said doorisecurarcuate spri s- 11 a y st i-ng point with anarm'-directional;:spring:thrust nrectional :end p to s defining said first and secr and in'a' downwardly direction at'uanangle of 0nd. arms respectively. less than 90 to theverticalon-said axisthrough --6. Thesimprovement in accordaneewith claim -said door securing-point,--saidsecond arm being 1 4-in-which said firstwarm-extends atanangle not "mounted substantially at its 'end "at a mountingexceeding.substantially 60, in which said arcuate point substantiallypositioned below said door sespringihas substantially straight ndirectional curing. point; said spring beingjspring-tension rendportionsrdefining said first andisecond arms "compressible "betweensaid' armsand mounted respectively a-nd.in-which-saidmounting point isfor substantially arm directional'lifting of said .ionthevertical tosaidaXis'of'pi-vot1substantially first arm at saididoor securing-pointthroughout -extendinggat anvangle with-the' horizontal :on :said

' at least thefirst 'part of the arc of travel of said 7()--&XiS: -ofnotexeeeding substantially :60.

door securing point around said axis, when-lopen- '7. In toasters of thetype h vin at e tw 'in is i door, and for deflection of saidsecondslice-*reversi-ng:'doors substantiallyJim-opposing :arm, actuated by thelifting-of-said1first=arm, a-po-sitions on ieithereside thereof, theimprovement and spring'me'ans for resisting said deflection of..wiiicheeemprises incomb a on iwi h-wany wo said second arm. such doorsofisuch toaster a: double springrhaving 9 at least one first arcuatespring element secured to one of said doors and at least one secondarcuate spring element secured to the other of said doors, each saidarcuate spring elements comprising at least one arcuate spring, springtension compressible between ends and defining with its end portions atleast one first and one second arm respectively, said first arm beingsecured substantially at its end to its door at a door securing pointpositioned, with thedoor closed, substantially below the axis of pivotof said door, each said first arm substantially extending at its doorsecuring point with an arm directional spring thrust and in a downwardlydirection at an angle of less than substantially 90? to the vertical onthe axis of pivot through its-door securing point for substantially armdirectional lifting throughout at least part of the arc of travel of itsdoor securing point around the axi of pivot when opening its door, and aresistance spring coil common to both second arms of said double springand carried at and as a substantially integral extension of the ends ofeach second arm thereby connecting the same to form said double springas a substantially single unit, said spring coil being mounted at asubstantially stationary I mounting point substantially position d'beloweach of the door securing points, each second arm being defiectibleagainst the spring resistance of said coil upon the lifting of its firstarm and each arcuate spring being tension-compressed with respect to itsdoor when the latter is substantially closed.

8. In toasters of the type having at least two slice-reversing doorssubstantially in opposing positions on either side thereof, theimprovement which comprises in combination with any two itssubstantially straight end portions at least one first and one secondarm respectively, said first arm being'secured substantially at its endto its door at a door securing point positioned, with the door closed,below and forward of the axisof pivot of its door, said first armsubstantially extending at its door securing point in said position withan arm directional spring thrust and in a downwardly direction at anangle of substantially not exceeding to the vertical on said axisthrough said door securing point, said second arm being defiectiblymounted substantially at its end at a substantially stationary springmounting point positioned substantially below its door securing point onthe vertical to said axis of pivot substantially extending at an anglewith the horizontal of substantially not exceeding 60 and spring means,:common to the second arms of both said arcuate springs, for

resisting the angular deflection of each said second arm, each of saidarcuate springs being tension-compressed when its door is substantiallyclosed.

9. The improvement in accordance with claim 8 in which said spring meanscomprise a coiled resistancespring carried as a substantially integralpart of said double spring between second arm ends.

VITO MAZZARISI.

